It has been a while since I baked anything. So when I set to bake a quick bread during the weekend, I was so anxious and it felt as if I was baking for the first time. I was eager than ever to taste it. A couple of days back I borrowed the book "125 Best Quick Bread Recipes" from the library. The authors of the book are Donna Washburn and Heather Butt. As the name of the book suggests, it has 125 recipes for quick breads classified under a lot of categories ranging from sweet treats, low fat, gluten free, for the bread machine, scones, coffee cakes etc. I have already bookmarked quite a few and hope to try at least 25% of it.
I decided to try the Pineapple Bran Loaf first for many reasons. I have had a can of crushed pineapples in the pantry for quite some time now, so was the Fiber One Original Bran cereal too. Also I have never used "pineapple" anything while baking and haven't tasted anything so far too. So I thought this will be a nice change from the usual flavors I'm used too. Although at the back of the mind I was thinking if we would like it or if its going to end up in the trash.
Luckily this quick bread recipe was a hit in our house. I would bake this bread again just for the aroma while its baking and after as well. The book suggested to let it stand overnight but it was definitely a challenge to resist when your entire house is filled with this amazing aroma. While I was measuring the ingredients I was going back and forth whether to cut back on the sugar/honey in the recipe but finally decided to follow the original recipe and I'm glad I did that because the sweetness was perfect. I thought that it would be too sweet but it was just right for us. For those who don't know me (and my husband) yet, we don't like very sweet cakes, cookies etc. Since the bran cereal does not have any sugar at all, the sugar, honey and sweetness from the crushed pineapple makes it just right.
I was wondering if my son would like it and surprisingly he liked it very much and so did my husband too. The quick bread had a nice nutty flavor from the bran cereal and the flavor of the pineapple was not at all overpowering like I thought it would be. So if you too are bored of the usual chocolate, banana breads give this pineapple bran quick bread a try.
Recipe
Pineapple Bran Quick Bread Recipe
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 1 and ½ cups All Purpose Flour
- 1 and ¼ cups Bran Cereal (I used Fiber One Original)
- ¼ cup Granulated Sugar
- 2 teaspoons Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
Wet Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons Oil (I used Canola)
- ½ cup Unsweetened Applesauce
- ⅓ cup Honey
- 1 and ¼ cups Crushed Pineapple, with juice (See My Notes #1)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F/180C for 15 minutes. Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan. I also lined it with a piece of parchment paper to enable easy removal of the loaf from the pan.
- In a large bowl, stir together the dry ingredients.
- Similarly combine together the wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Just stir it well with a whisk.
- Pour the wet mixture of the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Over-mixing the batter will result in a tough bread. Having lumps is fine, just be sure that the dry ingredients are not visible.
- Spoon the batter into prepared pan Bake in the preheated oven for 70-80 minute or until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Mine was done around 75 minutes. (See My Notes #2)
- Let cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Since I lined the pan with a parchment paper, the loaf came off very easily without any mess. Let the loaf cool completely on the rack overnight.
My Notes
- Be sure you don't drain the pineapple; just spoon juice and pulp together in your measuring cup. I used the dry measuring cups for this and not the liquid measuring mug.
- If you don't have a light colored loaf pan, I would suggest you to get one for quick breads like this which require 70-80 minutes of baking. I used a very dark non stick pan and the corners started browning around 30 minutes itself. I have read somewhere that pies which are browning too quickly can be saved by covering it loosely with an aluminum foil. So I tried the same trick for this quick bread too and I was able to avoid a disaster. Even then I would say that the top was very brown and it could have been better had I used a light colored pan.
- I think adding a cup of chopped walnuts to the batter will make it even more tasty.
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SImplyOldSchoolCookingReese says
Pineapple is a great change of pace! I love eggless recipes as well as this one is a keeper:)
ritu says
Very nice recipe but what is the substitute of bran cereals. Please tell.
Madhuram says
Maybe you could try it with plain cornflakes too.
Anu says
hi Madhu,yr site is adorable,have tried many of your recipes with super results.Can i substitute honey with sugar in the above recipe? If so, do i need to adjust the liquid content as well? Thanx.
Madhuram says
Thanks Anu. Check this link about substituting sugar for honey: http://www.ehow.com/how_2099210_substitute-sugar-honey-recipes.html
Anisha says
Hi Madhu,
Can we use golden syrup instaed of apple syrup?? Also, will it make a difference if we use oat bran??
Anisha I have used unsweetened applesauce and not syrup. I wouldn't suggest using golden syrup instead because the texture would be different and it becomes far away from healthy. Do you want to use oat bran instead of the barn flakes? I wouldn't know the effect until I try it myself. Maybe you can try some other cereal if you don't get bran flakes, maybe cornflakes.
Mita says
Madhu - love your site. Learned so much about baking without eggs here. You're great inspiration. If a recipe calls for '2 eggs' - how much applesauce or othere substitue is that??? Is there better substitue other than applesauce for baking breads. I just saw another bread recipe which calls for 2 eggs. I know you will help me out with my lack of knowledge. 😉
thanks. I can't wait to try this pineapple bread.
Thank you very much Mita. Use 1/4 cup of applesauce for each egg to be replaced. See more about egg substitutes here. http://www.egglesscooking.com/egg-replacements/. If you send me the link for the recipe I will be able to tell you which egg substitute would be better.
Minu says
Madhu...Love your site and really enjoy making eggless items that I see here.
I am so looking forward to making Pineapple Bran bread... b/c my son loves pineapples. Went out and got the applesauce & pineapple chunks, I am little confused about the Bran Cereal you used, Fiber One Original - isn't that like flakes (like Total and Kelloggs). Did you grind it to powder?? Or do you get grinded powder like in Canada (I am in NE Phila). Please let me know so I can make it soon. Thanks. Keep up the great work.
Thanks Minu. Fiber One Original is not the flakes but the worm like (sorry about the description) tiny cereal. I added it just like that and did not powder it. So you do feel a chewy texture when you bite on the cereal which we liked very much.
Sweatha says
Love the bread Pineapple is a wonderful change from choc and banana.Missed your recipes Madhu.Take care.I too have a dark colored pan and add to it the double coils in the OTG -result- I always bake 25d lesser than mentioned.While in US my oven was slow and here its fast.Cake is done by 15 minutes or its burnt. 😕 I am still getting used to it. ❗
Thanks Sweatha. Somehow I too feel that the standard oven in Canada is smaller than the one I used to have in US. I don't know if its just me or it is really smaller.
Hema says
🙂 It is really superb. It was a great fun to bake a cake without eggs.
Soma says
my MIL is here and was asking how it would be to make a pineapple quick bread.. and here you are. Love the flavor of the pineapple and the bits in it.
Wow! that's an interesting co-incidence.
Yojana says
HEy Madhu is oat bran the same as instant oatmeal?
No its different Yojana. Oat bran is the outer skin of the oat just like wheat bran. You should be able to find it in the hot cereals aisle in the grocery store next to wheat germ and stuff.
simply.food says
This pineapple bread looks delicious.
Usha says
I love the idea of pineapple in bread, looks delicious !
Jayasri says
pineapple is one fruit I love, bread looks beautiful, I am going to try this!!, I have a can of pineapple, need to look if I have bran!!, I have book marked it.
Kalyani says
looks delicious & nice picture........
Divya Vikram says
Love the idea of adding cereals to quick breads. Looks delicious Madhu!
Cilantro says
Lovely looking bread, love the color and the Pineapple in them. Did you use the canned pineapple or the fresh one?
I used canned (crushed) pineapple Cilantro.
harini says
awesome recipe!! shall have to bake it...nice click too!!
swathi says
Madhu,
Pineapple bran quick bread looks awesome.
Soumya says
Yummy!looks so good.Perfect during this fresh mango season.
Champa says
Looks really good.
Priya says
Fantastic bread, looks truly fantastic and beautiful...
Sonia says
Wonderful quick bread! loved the color and texture of this bread. I wish i could make it now. I have everything in my pantry except Bran cereal. 😐 Thanks for sharing this recipe. Bookmarked!